OPINIONS: The power of influence and the fear of missing out during music events clout student income

As the chimes of Coachella ring in the festival season, F.O.M.O. is bound to set in for many of us.

Fear of missing out on the latest events leads many students to miss class time and overspend. For those who purchased tickets for coveted events such as Coachella far in advance, nothing can stop the call of the festival.

Fear not, there’s nothing to be missed worth the expense of your education. Many of these artists can still be seen more conveniently and more intimately at their own concerts.

“I had to miss out on a test to leave on time with my carpool. I purposefully sacrificed my academic achievement, but I get to drop one at the end of the semester so I’m okay with the zero,” Eyona Zimmerman said

The dual weekend event brings out some of the biggest stars in pop culture such as Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Childish Gambino and more. These names would be enough for me, but the venue also hosts side events and activities to keep attendees endlessly entertained. Much of the focus is on pop culture and pushing fashion trends unlike earlier days when the musical performers were center stage.

Starting in January, right after the holidays end, promotions for festival fashion hit the billboards. Trends including hairstyles, clothing and even behaviors are marketed using phrases like “turn up” or “get lit” to sell products. These colorful ads are hard to miss through physical and digital platforms where festival gear is blasted all over until the next season hits.

The need for strong social media presence and creating picturesque post has contributed to marketing goals and have become major reasons to attend festivals such as Coachella. It’s found that about 75% of millennials are there engaging in social media amidst all the fun and entertainment.

We live in an age where the phrase “pictures or it didn’t happen” has taken on an extreme. With crowds reaching over 100,000 at a time, many are there only to collect proof of going.

Whether we knowingly feed into or not, constant peer-pressure through social media encourages everyone not to miss out and creates an intensified yearning to join the crowd. With so much anticipation and incentives to attend, the only thing left to do is purchase tickets and make your way to be seen.

Let’s not forget the highly anticipated Fyre Festival that turned out to be a major scam. People spent thousands of dollars on travel and tickets to the exclusive venue where they were promised a luxury experience and the celebrity treatment. A couple of documentaries have since been made about its failure to deliver on those promises.

The event was endorsed by models and celebrities on a beautiful island having fun and inviting everyone to join in except when the time came nothing was as promised and the island was still in production of the festival.

“Fyre had such a high profile that I don’t think anyone could have assumed that it wouldn’t work out,” Director of the Fyre documentary, Chris Smith said.

All in all, it’s best to decide for ourselves what reasons we choose to attend or not attend certain hyped up events to prevent disappointments and squandering academic achievements just for pictures on social media.